Facilitating Online Communities

= course at http://www.wikieducator.org/Facilitating_online_communities

Description

"Facilitation is a rare and valuable skill to have. It is a service that is often used in conferences, debates, panels and tutorials, or simply where groups of people are meeting and need someone to help negotiate meaning and understanding, and to keep everyone engaged and on task.

• Good facilitation depends on good communication skills.

• Good online facilitation depends on good online communication skills.

• Facilitating online communities... what does that involve?

This course has been developed by staff in the Educational Development Centre of Otago Polytechnic and is designed to help both formal and informal learners access and interpret models, research, and develop professional expertise in the facilitation of online communities. After completing this course people should be confident in facilitating online and/or be able to critique and offer advice to other people in the facilitation of online communities.

Participation in this course is open. You will need to have regular access to the Internet and be comfortable with independently completing tasks using the Internet. In formal learning terms this is a level 7 course registered on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. It is part of the the Graduate Certificate in Applied eLearning which Manukau Institute of Technology manage. Formal learning participants engage in this course for a period of 17 weeks with an indicative time commitment of at least 6 hours per week. Formal learners will recieve assessment services and formal recognition at the completion of the course, as well as concentrated learning support throughout the period in which a formal course runs. To enroll as a formal participant, please make contact via the programme website.

Some people may prefer to engage in this course informally and to set their own pace through the work using the schedule as a guide. Informal engagement is welcome and arrangements can be made for formal assessment and recognition at any time with the course facilitator." (http://www.wikieducator.org/Facilitating_online_communities)

Status

See the report at http://learnonline.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/looking-back-on-foc08/